This week the Kaitlyn/Night of Champions mystery takes a backseat, as #1 contender for the Divas Championship, Layla faces off against habitual flip-flopper, Alicia Fox in singles action. Can Layla takes out the Foxy One, or can Alicia manage to sneak out the win and work her way into the title picture? Check out the match below and find out:
Out first is the #1 contender, Layla, who is all smiles. On the other hand, Alicia Fox is all attitude and sass, as she saunters down the ramp. The referee *coughBRADMADDOXcough* signals for the bell and our Divas match is underway.
The Divas lock up to kick things off, but Layla immediately converts into a school boy pin for a nearfall, followed by a modified arm drag. Alicia retreats to the corner, prompting Layla to give chase, but Alicia evades and goes for her signature split-legged Sunset Flip. Unfortunately for Fox, Layla rolls through drills her in the face with a dropkick. As Alicia scrambles to her feet, Layla smacks her butt and Alicia is not amused.
Layla hits a forearm, before whipping Alicia off of the ropes. Alicia reverses it, but Layla counters with a slick rollup for another nearfall. Layla tries to land a kick to the gut, but Alicia scouts it and goes right for her bad knee. Alicia continues to work over the bad knee, but Layla manages to get back to vertical base and lands a couple of strikes before Alicia takes out her knee once again, sending her crashing down to the mat.
Alicia pulls Layla back to her feet and hits a beautiful Northern Lights suplex for a one-count, before locking in a modified spinning toehold submission. After a failed pin attempt, Alicia converts into an unorthodox, yet effective cloverleaf-ish submission, but the referee catches her holding the ropes for extra leverage, and makes her break the hold.
Layla tries to mount a comeback with a flurry of kick, but get tossed into the corner by Alicia. Alicia comes charging, but Layla takes her legs out from under her, lands a springboard crossbody, but is unable to capitalize due to her injured knee. Alicia goes for the knee once more, but Layla spins away and nails her with a roundhouse kick to pick up the win.
Post-match, Layla gets on the mic and puts Divas Champion Eve Torres on notice, basically letting her know that she’s going to get her title back.
Thoughts: While there wasn’t much focus on the Kaitlyn attack storyline, this match put some hype into the impending Eve/Layla title rematch, which is a good thing. After seeing Eve and Layla’s fantastic match on Superstars last week, I’m hoping that they can recreate the magic when the title is on the line.
As for this match, I really liked it. Layla is really coming into her own as a singles competitor, even though I feel she can be a bit bland as a babyface. I’d like to see her show a bit more fire and intensity as she pursues the championship, because from a fan’s perspective, I just don’t feel like she really wants it.
As for Alicia, I’m digging her whole tweener position in the division, even if it can be a bit confusing at times. Alicia kind of puts me in the mind of Nidia of Tough Enough fame. She consistently put on solid matches and works well with most of the other Divas, but can never seem to get herself into the title picture. That goes double for Natalya. However, unlike Nidia, I think both these Divas will get themselves a decent run sooner or later, especially with the sudden purge of the division lately.
Well, that’s all for the Divas this week! Here’s to hoping we get to the bottom of this Diva attacker business next week!
